Angel Of The First Degree - Chapter 4: Starcourt

Angel of the First Degree - Chapter 4: Starcourt

Eddie Munson x Chubby & Inexperienced!Reader 4322 words A sneak peek at what to expect from this fic here

Previous Chapters: 1 - Valium; 2 - Carrie; 3: Honey

Warnings: Anxiety; fatphobia including internalised; drug use; bullying; body issues; discussion of body function and fluids; period shame/stigma; disclosure of sexual assault (chapter 2); disordered eating and thoughts of food; shitty/abusive/critical parents; no beta; warnings updated each chapter

Synopsis: When Eddie Munson finds you in the midst of a panic attack, it is the beginning of something. A fic featuring body and sex positivity, Eddie in a dress, soft small moments, scary big truths, and all the usual special feelings you’d expect from one of my stories.

Chapter Summary: Quality time. Acts of service. Words of affirmation. Gift giving. Physical Touch. All the languages of love are here and accounted for.

When you were in Eddie’s room, it was like there was no line between where your body ended and the universe began. You were at peace, not monitoring yourself and your body for a million and one inconsequential things.

How do the rolls of my belly look like this? Was that a dumb thing to say? Is there snot in my nose? How much space am I taking up? Is my armpit hair peaking out? Did that laugh sound weird? Should I have shaved my legs?

You just existed in the moment, and the moment was always, completely… Eddie.

Eddie learning to play Metallica songs while you drew pictures of monsters the lyrics made you think of; he stuck them all on his wall with push pins, a collage of your creations growing. Eddie getting high while you watched, instructing him to put his head in your lap, close his eyes, and let you braid his hair. Eddie practicing for the new Hellfire campaign, bouncing around the room doing voices and movements different from his own. Eddie holding out grabby hands to you, begging for cuddles while you watched horror movies until curfew.

It was easy to lose whole days in that room, and you let it happen regularly and happily. It was significantly better than being at your house, where your parents were growing angrier at your distance from them, which they wrongly assumed also meant your grades were slipping.

“That is… Drumroll, please,” Eddie said in his best game show host voice. You drummed your pencils on the kitchen bench of his trailer. “CORRRRRECT! She’s done it again, ladies and gentlemen. The perfect test score!”

Eddie made every practice test like that. Fun. Engaging. Memorable. It anchored your learning to semantic memory. The more time you spent with Eddie, your already good grades were getting even better.

He read your essays, adding tips from when he’d been in that class. Just because he had failed didn’t mean he was dumb. He knew what the teachers wanted; he just lacked the motivation to give it to them. He got you from an A- to an A+ in English, his creative flair helping to give all your pieces that extra special thing teachers loved.

Your parents didn’t want to hear about it though. They barely tolerated hearing Eddie’s name at all. Any evidence that disproved their preconceived idea of him was banned from conversation. Things were becoming tenser with them, which meant you spent more time at Eddie’s, which continued the cycle of shitty parenting and avoidant behaviour.

None of it mattered when you were alone with Eddie.

When you walked side by side, he would lace his fingers between yours or wrap an arm around your shoulder. At the cafeteria table, Eddie’s leg would hook around your ankle. Sometimes he’d reach out and tap on your fingernails like he was playing the piano. Best though, was always going to be being together in that bedroom.

Sitting on his bed, he’d pull your legs over his and hold them. When you sat at his dresser doing school work, he’d sit at your feet and lean against the chair just to be close. The melodies he played then were always soft and always came from his acoustic guitar.

When you got sleepy, he’d tell you to nap, then hold you close as a big spoon should. He was careful where he placed his hands, knowing it would take one wrong move to make your self-consciousness snap back in an instant. So, he’d often just hold his arms off you a little bit and twinkle his fingers, his mute way of telling you to put him where you wanted him.

Eddie kept an eye on the time, never letting you be late for curfew because he knew the wrath it would result in. Even when you protested, even when he had to wake you up, and even when you tried to hide tears, he would usher you out to his van and take you home, feeling like shit the entire way.

Eddie wanted you to fall asleep in his bed and not have to wake until morning.

He wanted you to look in the mirror and see what he saw.

The thing he couldn’t stop thinking about though, the thing he couldn’t help picturing all fucking day, was kissing you.

When your focus was elsewhere, he’d study your lips. The cupid bow. The way you sucked your bottom lip in when you were anxious or concentrating. The lip balm you used that was meant to be unscented but he swore was vanillary.

He was a man possessed by a singular thought and it was getting ridiculously distracting. He wanted you to be ready but he wouldn’t know when that was unless he asked you. So, that’s what he’d do. Eddie decided on a course of action and plotted it out in his mind, all while watching you politely listen to Dustin and Mike try to convince you that their respective girlfriends were better than the other’s.

“Um… They both sound really cool,” you offered.

“No, but El is like, a superhero,” Mike repeated for the sixth time.

“Nobody knows what that means,” Gareth said from across the table.

“Suzie has long curly hair, huh? Huh?” Dustin said, elbowing you like you’d know what that was code for. You just shrugged at him. “You love people with long curly hair!” Dustin clarified, annoyed that he had to spell it out. He pointed at Eddie, who was lost in his own ‘I’m gonna kiss her so much’ plans.

You looked over your shoulder at Eddie, smiled at the far-off expression on his face, then turned back to the freshmen. “I just… don’t really… want to compare girls like that. Can’t they both just be the best?”

Dustin groaned and Mike pushed his lunch tray away dramatically.

“They’re probably not the best,” Gareth said, making the freshmen freeze and glare. “I mean, what kind of girls would date you losers?”

A trail mix and potato-tot fight ensued.

…

Starcourt Mall 2.0 was not the destination you expected to arrive at. Looking over at Eddie, you cocked your head in confusion.

“Trust me,” he said.

“You literally were going on about how you’re glad it burnt down the other day,” you reminded him. There was a speech about how all the shops in the mall were part of the man’s plan to make everyone look the same. Dress the same. Eat the same. While Eddie didn’t walk on tables to make his point, it was all very dramatic.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but it got me thinking. They rebuilt, so maybe, you know, different stores,”

“Okay, that’s… fair…”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Eddie said. “I promised a special date and now we’re at the mall. But-”

“Trust you?” you finished for him.

Eddie grinned and nodded. He jumped from the van and came to open your door, something he did religiously. Sometimes he’d say an accompanying ‘my lady,’ or just bow at your service.

As you walked through the mall hand-in-hand with Eddie, you took stock of how the mall had changed. Before the fire, you’d go there all the time. When you were with other cheerleaders, the group of you were a force to be reckoned with. People would scatter out of the way, afraid of being targeted by way too cool teenage girls. It was more about being there and being seen, rather than the act of consumerism. Although, new lipstick and dresses were often purchased, and often at the command of Hayley.

You didn’t miss that, but as you walked by the book store, you remembered quiet Sunday afternoons with Chrissy. Picking out romance novels and giggling over pages when they got steamy. Sometimes you missed her, but required to pick between you and the rest of the cheer squad, Chrissy chose the path of least resistance.

 “So, I don’t think you were listening, had your head buried in Pet Sematary-”

“It’s really good!” you chimed in.

Eddie smiled. “I thought you’d like it. But the other day, when Wheeler was talking about his kid sister, you weren’t paying attention?” He waited for you to confirm, which you did. “Good, so, he said his mum made him take her here. I know it’s like, for kids, but it’s kind of fucked up when you think about it. And it’s cute. So I thought it was, I don’t know, representative… Of us,”

“We’re… cute and fucked up?” you asked, trying to figure out what the hell he could be talking about.

“Yeah. Basically. Um, and I checked, you know, that we could do it. That it wasn’t literally only for children,”

“That we could do what?”

Your question was timed perfectly as you walked around a corner and arrived at a brightly lit store with rainbow colours painted on the walls.

“Build a bear!” Eddie announced.

The shop was more of a one-room workshop. To the right was a wall of soft toys, teddies and cats and puppies and some creatures you didn’t recognise. Below them were bins full of, well, the skins of the soft toys. You watched a kid pick one up and take it over to a girl sitting at a big machine full of fluffy teddy stuffing. The stuffing was rolling around in the machine, warm and alive.

“I’m gonna name mine Angel,” Eddie said, pulling you into the store.

“You’re right… This is kind of fucked up,” you mused, holding the skin of a brown highland cow teddy in your hands.

Eddie nodded, making a half giggle half snort sound as he pulled a baby pink and horrifically hollow cat out of a bin.

“Hi! Welcome to Build-a-Bear. My name is Kasey and I’ll be your bear builder today. Have you chosen a pawsome friend to join your family?!”

Kasey was full of pep on the outside but you figured she was probably dying on the inside. Maybe that’s why she was at your sides so quickly – any chance to serve someone other than a screaming six-year-old.

“You don’t have to… like… do the whole thing,” you said to her.

Kasey shrugged. “It’s honestly easier than trying to have a genuine conversation every time. I used to work at McDonalds. This is way better,”

“But no free fries,” Eddie joked.

Kasey looked at him with the dead-eyed vacant expression of a retail worker. “There were no free fries. Anyway, that your pick?” she asked him, pointing to the pink cat. Eddie nodded. “And you’ve got Longhorn?”

“That’s his name?” you asked, looking at the dead cow in your hands.

“They’re all Longhorn, until you know, you name it,” she answered, leading you to the stuffing machine. “We’ll fill them up then you can put whatever you want in there.”

Eddie had his cat filled firmly, so she would sit in a cute pose on one of his guitar amps. Yours was much more soft, floppy and cuddly in your arms.

“These are their hearts,” Kasey said, handing you each a small red pillowed heart. “Next, we do the Build-a-Bear heart ceremony. Shake it up in your palms to bring them to life. Rub their hearts on your forehead so the bears will be smart.”

You weren’t sure if she was serious, but Eddie was already smooshing the heart into his head, so you copied him.

“Rub your cheeks, so the bears will be cheeky. And on your back, so they'll always have your back. Lastly, over your hearts, so they’ll be full of love. Now they’re ready. Put them inside,”

“Wait. Here. Have mine,” Eddie said, pushing his heart into the open stitching of your cow.

“Then here,” you replied, gifting his cat your heart.

Kasey pulled at the threading of the teddies and sewed them close. She directed you to where you could pick an outfit for them.

“Holy shit. These bears have better career options than me,” 

“I don’t see a rockstar outfit though,” you said looking at the uniforms and clothing on offer. You walked away from Eddie to where you spotted a tiny leather jacket.

When you reconvened at the counter, Eddie’s cat was dressed in a denim jacket, much like the one you were wearing. He grinned at your own choice, taking it and making it kiss the cat.

“Oh my god,” you squealed, snatching the toys from Eddie. 

You put the bears on the counter, and let Eddie pay for them.

“You get a birth certificate,” the woman at the counter said. She pulled two pre-printed pieces of paper out and handed you both a pen.

You watched Eddie write ‘Angel’ in his best handwriting in the blank space on his certificate.

Looking down at your own, you thought. Obviously, you had chosen the highland cow for his messy mop of hair and big brown eyes, but you didn’t really want to name him Eddie. With no other nicknames, you had to brainstorm quickly. ‘Hellfire’ seemed fitting, and when you glanced at Eddie, the smile on his face was all the reassurance you needed.

Eddie thanked the bear builders and handed you Hellfire while putting Angel under his arm. “I’m hungry,” he said, taking your free hand and walking from the store.

Eddie had learned not to politely ask ‘are you hungry’ or ‘do you want something to eat’ because you would always say no. If he hid his care for you under a cloak of his own needs, you’d usually follow his lead. His second trick was dubbed sharing is caring.

“Do you wanna share some nachos?”

“Yeah, ‘kay,” you replied, sitting at the food court table Eddie had placed Angel on.

“You look after the children,” he said with a shameless smile.

Alone in the middle of a place that used to mean something so different to you, you felt strange. Kind of spacey. By the time Eddie returned, the biggest plate of nachos you had ever seen put on the table, you were zoned out.

“I got extra guacamole. ‘Cause you love avocado,” he told you. Eddie hated avocado, so he rotated the plate so the green was closer to you. “Hey. You okay?” he asked, his eyes scanning your expression, then the food court.

“Yeah. Just thinking,”

“Good stuff?”

Nodding, you replied, “Yeah.”

You used the plastic fork to eat a solid portion of the food. Eddie used his hands and went through a pile of napkins. You accepted his offer to share his milkshake, and you let him down half your Dr Pepper in return.

“You’re quiet,” he said as you made your way back through Starcourt to the parking lot.

“I know… I'm okay though,”

“What’s happening? Up here?” Eddie motioned to his own head, kind of circling it like he was drawing a halo.

“Uh… I don’t really… know. It’s weird. I’m like… A bit spaced out. But in a good way? I’m not really thinking anything.”

Eddie thought for a second. “I don’t wanna alarm you, but could you possibly be just… you know, happy?”

“Eddie. I’m happy a lot,” you said defensively enough that he knew he was on to something.

“Yeah, I know, but like, maybe you’re just... really here. Right now. In this minute.”

Eddie stopped at your side of the van and held your hand as you stepped up into the passenger seat. You took Angel from him, hugging her and Hellfire to you.

Your nose tingled and tears pricked at the sides of your eyes. Eddie stepped closer, the height difference between you removed by your seated position. You sat back a little and watched him look at you carefully. He was waiting for you to say something, but you couldn’t. Words would get stuck behind the lump in your throat.

A small nod was all you could offer, but for Eddie, it was poetry in motion.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered.

The food in your stomach flipped and your teeth clenched together with anxiety. You were entirely freaked out, but you had never wanted something so desperately before. Again, all you could do was nod. He asked if you were sure. Somehow, you managed to squeak out, “Yes.”

Eddie carefully closed the gap between you, pushing his forehead against yours. Your eyes closed immediately and you took a sharp breath in. Eddie ran his nose along yours, waited for you to breathe out, then gently pressed his lips to yours. Before you could think to move, his lips were gone, but he hadn’t moved away.

Eddie’s hands came to cup your face. He kissed you again, lingering a little longer to let you catch up. You kissed back. It was awkward and sweet and you didn’t know what to do because the only other time you’d been that close to someone was a drunk Andy, who mostly just mashed his teeth to yours and tried to make you swallow his tongue.

This was nothing like that.

“You good?” Eddie asked, not moving away from you. 

“Yeah,” you replied, staying still in his hands.

Eddie kissed you, letting you grow a tiny bit bolder, parting your lips against his and waiting for him to do the same. Although you were still a burning ball of nerves, there was something almost second nature about kissing Eddie. It wasn’t that you knew exactly what to do, but you knew whatever you did, it would be right. You couldn’t fuck it up.

“Can we go home?” you asked after the fourth and fifth kiss.

“Yeah, Angel. Let’s go home.”

Letting go of you and stepping back made Eddie ache in a way he’d never felt. He knew it was a love-adjacent feeling, so he didn’t fight it.

On the ride home, you held Angel and Hellfire and tried to not giggle madly.  

…

“I’m serious, Ed, this is not bad at all,” Wayne said, looking in disbelief at the bowl of butterscotch pudding in front of him.

“It’s just sugar and flour,” Eddie dismissed.

10:00 pm was fast approaching and Wayne was due to leave for his night shift at work. Eddie, bored and caught up on homework, found an old recipe book shoved in the back of a kitchen cabinet when he was looking for something sweet. He followed the instructions and produced a more than decent pudding while Wayne woke and got ready.

They ate the dessert together, then Wayne bid his nephew goodnight.

It was a Wednesday night, the week after Build-a-Bear Saturday. You’d spent the rest of the day together in Eddie’s room, figuring out how to kiss each other in a way that would make your knees wobbly and Eddie’s entire body go rigid.

Every moment without you since then was torture. Monday’s classes sucked. Tuesday’s classes sucked. That day’s classes, yep, sucked. Making the pudding was really a welcomed distraction.

“Alright,” Eddie said to himself after ten minutes had gone by and he was still sitting at the kitchen bench staring off into space. He got up and moved the dishes into the sink. He looked at them and they looked back.

The phone rang. Eddie was thrilled. He could pretend the call made him forget to do the dishes.

“Greetings and salutations. You have reached the Munson residence. How may I direct your call?” he answered. Eddie knew the sound of your crying too well. The small sniffles on the other end of the line made all the joy evaporate from him. “Angel? Baby, what’s wrong?”

Standing in a phone booth a couple of blocks from your house, you started to really cry. Of course, he’d know it’s you without you even having to speak.

Eddie let you cry for less than a minute before coaching you through some deep breaths. He said your name a couple of times, then asked where you were. He told you to walk another block over, to where there was an all-night liquor place, and wait for him there.

The guy behind the counter at Hot Shot Liquor watched you sit on the curb outside the store and curl up into yourself. He was going to go out and ask if you needed help, but decided it was none of his business.

As soon as you saw Eddie’s van come around the corner, you were up. He tore out of the driver’s seat and held you tightly when you threw yourself into his arms.

“You’re okay. S’alright. I got you,” he whispered, repeating himself with small changes to sentence structure and word order.

When he felt like you could stand on your own two feet, Eddie pulled away from you just enough to see your face. He put his hands in the sleeves of the Anthrax hoodie he was wearing and wiped your face free from tears, snot, and spit.

“Let’s go home, yeah?” 

You nodded, looking at him through clumped-together eyelashes.

Eddie held your sad face in his hands and studied you for a second before leaning in and kissing you gently. Immediately, you kissed him back, deepening the kiss and adding a needy intensity that Eddie embraced in full.

You had thought kissing was a nice thing. It was about romance and fluffy feelings. But standing under a flickering neon 24/7 Liquor sign, cold and scared, you found out that kissing was now a necessity. You needed it. You needed to feel Eddie’s mouth against yours. You needed to feel like he wanted you like you wanted him. It was about romance, sure, but a feral kind of romance.

“Come on,” Eddie whispered when you both came up for air, his hands still holding you. You nodded into him but made no attempt to move.

He held you for a few more moments, then walked you around the van and helped you up. For the entire drive, he let you keep one of his hands between yours, not letting go to turn corners or park.

Eddie was back at your door to lead you inside. The trailer was warm and smelt good, that was all you really registered. Eddie pulled you along into his room, where you sat on the edge of his bed. He knelt in front of you.

“What do-” Eddie stopped mid-sentence to change his approach. “Do you know what you need? Or what you’d like?”

You looked at him, your eyes still filled with tears. Although you tried to think, tried to help him help you, your mind was all static and emotion. The best you could do was shrug, which you felt dumb and useless for but it was truly all you could do.

“That’s okay. Um, how ‘bout…” Eddie was thinking, his eyes darting around his room for inspiration. He remembered then; he had a surprise for you. Something special in his stockpile of gifts. “Do you want to change into something more comfy?”

Eddie stood and made his way over to where clothes were shoved haphazardly into a set of drawers. You watched him, hoping he wasn’t going to try to offer you any of his own wardrobe. Your cup size alone meant none of Eddie’s t-shirts would fit. If you thought of the size of his thighs compared to yours, you’d vomit.

“Because it just so happens that I got something for you,” Eddie said, his back still to you. “Has to be a secret though. The guys are so fuckin’ precious about the goddamn shirts, if they know I’ve given you one, they’ll lose it.”

Eddie turned around and held up a Hellfire shirt, the same as his, but in your size. Actually, maybe two sizes bigger.

“Figured you’d just wear it here, maybe for when we have our Saturday siestas, or whatever. Whatever you want,” he explained as he handed it to you. “I got it made bigger so it would be extra comfy.”

Your brain was short-circuiting.

Your silence was terrifying Eddie. Wayne had warned him that getting clothes for you would be risky. It involved guessing your size, which Eddie knew was a particular insecurity you had. Had he fucked up?

Eddie crossed his arms across his chest as he waited. Still, silence. He moved one of his hands to his face so he could chew on his fingernails.

“If it’s stupid-”

“It’s not stupid!” you almost yelled, cutting off Eddie. As you spoke you stood, too excited to be self-conscious. You moved to be in front of Eddie’s mirror, threw off the jacket and t-shirt you were wearing, quickly replacing it with the Hellfire shirt.

It fit exactly how you’d want it to and it smelled like Eddie. How long had he been keeping it hidden away in those drawers?

You felt different. It’s like the shirt was magic. Somehow, you didn’t fucking hate your reflection, even with the puffy eyes and messy hair. You kicked off your shoes and decided to go all in, unzipping and pulling off your jeans before you could think about it too much.

Eddie watched all of this in awe. He watched you look at yourself and smile. It was a proper smile. You looked at him then and he swore to god he was going to love you forever. He was going to fucking burst if he didn’t tell you.

“I love you,” he said, the words falling quickly from his mouth.

“I love you too,” you replied. It’s the easiest thing you’d ever said.

After warmed up butterscotch pudding and a debrief about how your parents had crossed the line between controlling and cruel, you cuddled up in Eddie’s bed. The radio was on in the background, turned down enough to be ambient more than clearly audible.

“This okay?” he whispered, his fingers ghosting down your back and along your bare thighs. You nod into him, pressed a kiss to his collarbone. It was more than okay.

Next Chapter - 5: Buzzkill

End Note: Build-a-Bear didn’t open until the late 90s, but I am pretending it was founded in like, 1985-ish, because how perfect was it?

As always, reblogs are king on Tumblr, and the only way content gets seen and shared. Comments and feedback make my entire fucking week.

Fic Taglist: @ajeff855 @b-barnes04 @eddie-munson-is-a-sweetheart @nerd-squad-headquarters @word-wytch @harrys-tittie

All Eddie x Reader By Me Taglist: @solomons-finest-rum @ruinedbythehobbit @munsonlives @sweetpeapod @depressooexxpressoo @thorfemmes @hawkins-high @corrodedhawkins @grungegrrrl

heheh i figured it out + so much more and already started the 'how things are in that world part 1 :' chapter 🤫🤫🤫

+ i loveeeee crossovers and modern aus so i'm gonna be reaalllll extra with it !

i'm talking : groupchat names + who's in them , social media accounts , everybody's relationships with everybody, etc. - ooooh prepare to be so tired of me !! 🤭🤭

HELPPP for my euphoria x stranger things au should i make steve graduated and a year older than the older hawkins teens like canon or seniors with them 😪😪😪

AND if he's graduated, should i have it as he's still working at family video or in college with mckay and just working part-time with robin🤫

HELP 😭

𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖆 𝖛𝖎𝖗𝖌𝖎𝖓

“stupid fucking hollywood satanist bitch!”

stranger things x jennifer’s body!au

part 1, part 2, part 3 - “stupid fucking hollywood satanist bitch!”

future warnings: cursing, blood, mentions of murder, unnerving reader - future , manipulation - future , complete change in behavior for reader (not yet), nancy from the craft except here her name is cirice, reader wears glasses for the time being, the girls from the craft, let me know if i forgot any!

a/n: this chapter’s gonna be long, since it switches between the reactions of the rest of her friends seeing her on the news, her pov, and so forth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hawkins, indiana | 9:49 a.m | saturday, november 23, 1985

your pov:

you walked, and walked, and ran a little, then walked some more before you finally broke into tears. you were covered in blood from head to toe- (your hair especially ruined, which you were a little more peeved about than the blood if we’re being honest)-both over and under your clothes-there were a million rips and holes in your shirt from the fucking knife cirice used to-

“fuck! cirice! oh that goddamn cirice. stupid fucking hollywood satanist bitch! ooh i’m gonna kill her ass!” you seethed, suddenly angry, before going back to despair.

“where the hell am i even going anyways.” you sobbed, dropping yourself down in front of one of the tall trees in the forest. not even wanting to acknowledge the fact that it started pouring.

now see, you weren’t oblivious to what happened last night, in fact you even remembered a few things that you’re pretty sure you weren’t even alive for.

you had killed alice, scarlett, and cora, well eaten them really.

“oh. my. gosh. am i a cannibal!?” you cried even harder at the thought before abruptly stopping. “well is it technically cannibalism if i’m not human anymore? i mean there’s no way that i can be human…oh whatever, at least i’m still alive.” you sniffed.

“why is it, i can remember all the shit that happened, except for where the hell eddie’s jacket went! ‘m practically freezing my tits off out here.” you mumbled to yourself, before falling asleep.

hawkins, indiana | buckley household | 6:58 a.m

robin wasn’t a morning person by any means necessary, but for some reason, on the weekends, she found it much easier to be awake in the earlier hours than she did during the rest of the week. and her and steve didn’t even have to work this weekend! what luck!

so there she sat on her couch, getting ready to indulge herself in a marathon of pink panther before she’d head over to your house to hang out and hear about that scary band’s performance. halfway through her humming the theme song, the program was cut off by the news.

“ohh, come on! you ruined the flow news-man.” she grumbled trying to change it before realizing that every channel was the same thing. she got up to get some more cereal, not really paying it any mind - being that she thought the news was depressing of course - until she heard your name.

the scene in front of her left her jaw unhinged, she didn’t know what to say, at all. she had always seen documentaries of people saying “i had just seen her the day before and she was perfectly fine, everything was normal.” but she had never imagined that she’d even have to imagine herself in the same situation- and she dealt with russians for goodness sake!-

before she could run to her room to get dressed- because the news said that your were missing, and not that you were dead, so of course robin was going to look for you- her doorbell rang incessantly. she ran over to it hoping it was you but instead finding steve, still in his pajamas, with the most freaked out look on his face, she had ever seen.

“oh my god robin she’s missing! she’s missing and those girls are dead, and she was with them and she’s missing!”

“well then come on steve!” she stopped him, dragging her out of her house and to his car, pajamas be damned, they were going to find their best friend.

hawkins, indiana | wheeler household | 7:15 a.m.

mike was sleeping so well. one could even say amazingly. so to have that sleep ruined by a cacaphony of noises he couldn’t put together in his hazy state, pissed him off, a lot.

between hearing nancy sobbing in her room, and a clatter of things falling around, the phone ringing off the hook, his walkie having a bunch of voices yelling over each other, his mother speaking on the phone in a teary-eyed ramble, and his father running about looking for hunting gear, mike really did think he was still sleeping.

“okay, what the hell is going on?” he began, going into nancy’s room, he stopped short when he saw her checking one of her guns before bursting passed him, and running down the stairs, apparently not even seeing him.

“what?!” he hadn’t been this confused since, well he didn’t know when but he was extremely confused.

walking back into his room, he found his walkie still going back and forth between the voices of his friends going back and forth making him grumble and decided to pick it up.

“okay, what the hell is going on!? why is everyone acting so insane?!”

“y/n’s missing!” they all said simultaneously before it just went quiet. like literally everyone stopped talking.

“huh?!” before he could say anything else, the phone started ringing again, this time he picked it up.

“hello?” he sighed.

“mike! the news said y/n’s missing!” will’s voice said through the phone. “have you guys found her yet?!” el’s voice chimed in.

“guys, i just found out and- wait, how did you guys know?” he asked incredulously, truly believing that if he closed his eyes tight enough he would wake up.

“it’s on national news! three of the girls from that band that went to hawkins were murdered last night, and y/n was with them! only her and the lead singer were reported still alive, but missing!”

“oh, god. okay, we’re looking for her, we’ll call you when we find her!” he hung up, getting dressed, before running downstairs.

he was pedaling his bike out of his garage, before he was met with the faces of his friends waiting for him at the end of the driveway.

“do you think it’s another demogorgon?” lucas asked, as they all began to bike to where max saw on the news it had happened.

“judging by the way it looked, it must’ve been a real hungry demogorgon. there was barely anything left of them!!” erica exclaimed.

“wait, you guys saw it!?” mike asked.

“yeah, they showed their bodied on the news. it was so gross. my mom was still throwing up when i left.” max said.

by the time they finally got to the woods, it had started raining- pouring really.

“not to be a downer or anything but this doesn’t remind you of anything?” lucas said cautiously, as they had now been walking through the woods, calling your name, for the past almost- three hours.

“yeah, i thought it too, but i didn’t want to say anything.” mike sighed.

“what are you guys talking about?” max asked.

“when will went missing three years ago, we came out to these exact woods looking for him, except it was night time, and it was raining, but instead of finding will, we found el.” dustin explained.

“oh.” max and erica said simultaneously.

“do you guys think whatever did it is still in these woods?” lucas asked.

“for our sakes, let’s hope not!” erica sighed, before jumping when she stepped on something only to find that it was glass.

“wait…those are glasses?” dustin asked, picking them up.

“oh god, those are y/n’s glasses!” lucas said, beginning to pace.

“okay, that doesn’t exactly mean that.” mike started. “yeah, the adrenaline probably got to her and she’s just running around without them.” dustin added, hopefully.

the kids knew better than anyone that you were clumsy as can be, and your glasses falling off wasn’t new. but they also knew that you would never just leave them around, constantly reminding them how expensive they were when you were crawling around looking and sounding like velma when searching for them.

“uh, where did max go?” lucas cut off the silence, when he looked up seeing that she was no longer with them.

“..shit. max!” dustin yelled out, as they all began to walk around looking for her.

“guys, over here, i found her!“ she yelled back.

as they ran over, to where she was, which was much farther than they thought, they saw her kneeling in front of a tree, staring in horror at something.

“is she alive?” lucas asked, as they all stood in front of you staring at you. your eyes were closed, you were covered in blood and dirt, no jacket on, and your shirt had a million rips in them.

“y/n? y/nnnn.” mike asked poking you with some stick he found.

you awoke with a sudden start, looking around frantically before realizing who was in front of you. before you could say anything however you were trampled by a bunch of kids, in a group hug.

“jesus, we thought you were a goner!” mike sighed.

“speak for yourself. but seriously, what even happened?” erica, asked.

“was it a demogorgon?” lucas asked.

“or the mind flayer?” dustin added.

“are you okay?” max asked.

“no, uhh it’s a long story, no and no, and yes i’m fine.” you answered all of their questions.

“y/n? i swear i just heard her voice?!” you heard a voice in the distance scream.

“steve?” dustin exclaimed incredulously.

“dustin?” robin’s voice was now heard.

“robin?” erica exclaimed too.

“erica?” now nancy’s voice was heard, they finally found you guys.

“nancy?!” mike yelled out.

“what the hell are you guys doing here?!” steve exclaimed, the older kids not having yet seen you, being that the younger kids were still covering you.

“we were looking for y/n! i’m assuming you guys were doing the same?” max asked.

“yeah! what do you mean were?” robin asked.

“i’m right here.” you sighed, beginning to stand up as the kids got off of you, before being knocked back down by nancy, steve, and robin.

“well i guess i’m not getting up at this point.” you tried to joke but was cut off by nancy’s crying in your shoulder.

“i’m so sorry! i should’ve just went instead! first barb, then almost you!” nancy sobbed, nearly cutting off your airways with the way she was squeezing your neck. thankfully you didn’t need them at this point.

“nancy, stop. i’m okay, and it isn’t your fault.” you started sternly, making her look at you. “nobody knew this was going to happen, and even if they did, i would’ve stilled preferred it’d be me over you, over any of you in fact, so you can all stop with the self-blame game, alright?” you said, looking over all of them, spotting their guilty faces.

“holy shit! the whole town’s looking for you two right about now! we need to get you to the front of the woods.” dustin exclaimed.

“what?”

“shit, yeah. you were on national news y/n! will and el called asking if we had found you yet.” mike added.

“oh god, what about my parents!? has anyone heard from them? my mother’s probably having an aneurysm right about now!”

“uhh, i think my mom was talking to her when i left this morning, i heard her crying through the phone.” nancy added.

“wait a second, what about eddie?” lucas asked, gathering your attention.

“what about eddie? have you seen him, today?”

“no, i mean wasn’t he with you last night?” he corrected.

“no, uh not after the performance, i went with the girls and was supposed to call him.”

“so long story short, everyone thinks your dead right now, so can we get a move on, please?” erica chimed in.

as you all trekked towards where the news and police were, at the edge of the forest, you heard someone screaming your name.

“y/n! fuck, i knew you were still alive. what the fuck happened!? why did you disappear from my house this morning!” eddie asked, after he ran and practically tackled you to the ground, in the tightest hug he’d ever given you, and he hugged you pretty tight after he found out you were at starcourt when it burned down, getting there before your parents had when it happened.

from the second eddie had yelled your name, everyone, from wayne and your parents, to the police, to the news crew’s attention was on you. eddie just so happened to get to you first. but even now with the reporters, crowding the both of you, the police trying to stop them and your parents trying to get through both the police and the news teams, to get to you, you were only focused on eddie.

he continued to ramble on and on, about how your parents were freaking out, how he had been freaking out, and how he was 110% sure that he saw some dude walk into the woods with a harpoon gun. but you were still hung up on one of the first things he said.

“you saw me this morning?” you asked, incredulously.

“duh! you were in my room acting all ominous ‘n shit! gave me back my jacket, and then you left, saying that your mom was picking you up!” he exclaimed, confused as to why you were confused.

before either of you could dwell on it any longer, your mother pushed a reporter out of the way, and lunged at you actually tackling you to the ground into a hug, rambling incoherently into your neck as your father attempted to soothe her hugging you as well.

“oh my baby, when i saw your face on the news this morning i practically died!” she sobbed.

“see hon, i told you our little girl was strong.” he soothed, holding you both close to him.

you were overwhelmed with all the attention on you. between your friends hanging around, your parents- specifically your mother crying and rambling in your ear, wayne and eddie, all the reporters and cops trying to ask you questions at once, and at least 10 news cameras pointed at you, you didn’t really know what to do. thankfully you didn’t have to do anything. all the noise around you blurred out and you couldn’t decipher any of the words being thrown at you anymore, even if you tried to.

because through the crowd around you, you spotted an ambulance, sitting there waiting to take someone to the hospital. and sitting in the back of said ambulance, was the one and only cirice taylor, staring right back at you, eyes swollen and doubled in size as she attempted to take you in.

she was the last thing you saw, before everything went black and you promptly passed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a/n: the story hasn’t even heated up yet 😭 i need her to start killing more people and acting weird already 🫤.

tag list : @harrys-tittie @snoopysavv @munsonlvrr @sarcasmismyonlydefense24 @monztrous @spidermxnkey @baconlillies @spicynoddels @tsumamibaddie @miiikkeey @nopetoohighforthat @dreamtogether2000 @maxisreal @bxrn-thxs-wxy-90five @charleetheefictionalfucker @missdforever

omfg this concept ?!?!?!? i absolutely love it !!!

The Nightmare Begins

Steve Harrington x Reader; The gang and Freddy Krueger

Word Count: 3163

Prompt: Storm

Warnings: My blog is 18+ regardless so minor DNI. Mentions of murder, child murders, cutting into skin, mental torment, arson, demonic deals, murder by arson, shady dealings, nightmares, light fluff and angst, the gang being the gang, established relationship between reader and Steve.

A/N: This is my first piece for Screamtober 2022. A big thank you to @cuddlykillers and @bride-of-jason-voorhees for the prompt list, it’s a great set for inspiration. I have toyed with theories around Freddy Krueger and Stranger Things for a while and wanted to link the two, so I hope I’ve done it justice. Freddy is probably my favourite horror character so doing this was a lot of fun.

As always, my work is not beta read and all my mistakes are my own. I do not give permission for this to be posted elsewhere either. Please feel free to like, comment and/or share. Feedback is always welcomed especially as this is a newer type of fan fiction for me. Who knows, if it works well I may use Screamtober to add some of Freddy’s battles against the gang. Enjoy!

Large intimidating flames danced against the backdrop of the indigo velvet sky. Seeping through the walls as it overtook the building, the fiery arms climbed, engulfing the building fully. Screams filled the air, painful ghastly shrieks that ripped at the core of those stood outside witnessing the horror. The sickly scent of burning flesh invaded the nostrils of orderlies and patients alike. Pennhurst Mental Hospital’s secure wing for the criminally insane was alight. It was as though Hell was claiming the building, with Satan on a mission to take the souls of those damned patients and the staff who mistreated them.

Senior warden Anthony Hatch stood in stoic observation. He knew that tensions were high between the orderlies and senior staff. Talks of strikes over pay deals that were pittance for the job they did. Especially in that section of the hospital. Some of the most dangerous people in the state of Indiana were kept in the high security wing. Now it was up in flames, orderlies and patients trapped in the concrete and iron structure. He knew that this would result in fatalities, the exits hitting auto lock once the alarm was triggered. Hatch closed his eyes listening to the symphony of horror, his smirk almost undetectable. He promised the board that this nonsense with the orderlies would be taken care of, even if it meant there were casualties. He didn’t let on that there would be a ‘tragedy’ leading to the death of so many people. They were just mere details to him. It cleared the way for progress; he would highlight flaws in the building and the government would happily pay towards a more modern development to prevent such an event from occurring again. This was progress for Hatch, even if it meant stepping over people to get there.

Victor sat, backed up, against the wall, he could feel the heat intensifying. He knew what was happening and that his time was coming. Others had been set free from their ‘prisons’ to try and help get the doors open but it was all for nothing as, one-by-one, they succumbed to their blazing murderer. The screams and smells all heightened by Victor’s blindness meant he could tell how close he was getting to his end. Known for curling up or rocking and singing to himself, Victor displayed none of that and rose to his feet, standing tall.

“We made a deal, a promise. Yet you went back on it!” he shouted out. His head moved swiftly from side to side, hoping to sense the presence. “We gave you our word, we did what you asked, and you took her from me!” he paused again. His mind cast back to when he was working as a school janitor in a suburban town in Springwood, Ohio. He and Virginia were struggling to live on his salary with a young child and one on the way. That’s when the dreams started, something dark offering him financial stability and a good life in exchange for the souls of the young. When he confided in Virginia, she told him to take the chance. It began shortly after. She made him the glove with knives, he fine-tuned it and every two weeks a child was lured in by Virginia offering cookies and milk. That’s when Victor would strike. Killing swiftly and then burning the bodies in the school incinerator, blood offered to the menace in his dreams.

The tally of children missing was causing distress and anger among the residents of Springwood. The police began to take the case more seriously and Victor was arrested after being seen talking to one of his last victims. However, there was not enough evidence to convict him. The parents threatened mob justice and Victor fled with his family to Hawkins, Indiana. Virginia had come into money, left to her by her uncle. They changed their names from Krueger to Creel. Virginia had always been known as Veronica Krueger but now she was Virginia Creel, Victor cast off the dark baggage he carried under the name Freddy Krueger as he became Victor Creel and young Harry Krueger became Henry Creel. This led to a series of events that landed Victor in Pennhurst.

A shadow emerged from the flames. Victor menacingly grinned as he sensed the shadow.

“My side of the bargain was not met, I will accept that, but I offer you eternal revenge with the power to hurt others where they cannot be saved – inflict mental pain on them and take them in their sleep. It’s time for Freddy to return and cast off the weak shell known as Victor Creel. Will you take this offer?” A sinister white line resembling a smile spread on the face of the shadow. Victor simply nodded as the flames ravaged his skin, his body almost melting in the fire. The deal was done.

Lightning tore through the night sky in Hawkins, thunder bellowing as rain fell heavily. Everyone was rushing from Steve’s car and Eddie’s van into Steve’s house to avoid getting wetter than they already were. Steve put the lights and heating on as the gang filed in. Y/N was about to enter the house and threw her hood back as she stood on the porch, her hair dripping at the ends. She felt an eerie motion in her gut, one that you get when something isn’t right. She turned to look around wondering if there was someone watching them. The sky was illuminated by a lengthy flash of lightning, its long pattern etched in the darkness – she shielded her eyes from the glare and sighed feeling relief seeing no one around.

“You ok Y/N?” Steve asked coming out and startling her. He placed his hands on her shoulders to steady and comfort her. The panic in Y/N’s eyes was completely out of character, Steve’s concern heightened at the expression she held.

“I… erm,” she looked around again before glancing back up at Steve, “it’s nothing” she conceded not convincing Steve and stepping away from him to enter his house. He placed his hands on his hips quickly scanning the surroundings trying to gain some clues as to why Y/N was so unnerved. Not seeing anything suspicious, he shrugged to himself and went inside.

Sitting in the living room, everyone was eating pizza and conversing while the television was on in the background. Robin’s eyes widened as the breaking news interrupted the sitcom nobody was really watching. Following her line of sight, Max sat up properly and turned up the sound. Silence fell upon the group as the reporter spoke.

‘As we stand here at Pennhurst Mental Hospital, you can see the chaos ensuing behind us. The high security wing is engulfed in flames. Firefighters have been struggling for the last hour to try and contain it, but their efforts have been futile so far. Senior Warden Anthony Hatch has issued an immediate statement expressing ‘deep horror’ as there are orderlies and patients trapped in there with little chance of survival. One of the patients in this wing is psychotic murderer Victor Creel, who horrifically killed his family, in 1959’…

The sound was turned down, the realisation that this couldn’t be good if a Creel was involved hit them. Their silence was such that you could hear a pin drop and it was making Eddie feel uncomfortable because the quiet had never been his friend – not when it meant he was alone with his thoughts.

“Are we going to talk about this? I mean this is serious shit” he voiced. Robin pressed her lips into a thin line; this was bad for them especially knowing that Vecna was regrouping somewhere.

“We need to stay vigilant” Robin’s voice was timid as she directed her look at Dustin. He nodded and pulled out his walkie talkie to contact Mike, El and Will. Max slid down from the sofa to the floor next to Lucas and Erica. They were due home in an hour, but she didn’t want to leave the cocoon of safety this surrogate family had all built between them.

“We’re back to being on high alert vigilance then” Eddie sighed.

“Do we never get a reprieve? When do we get to be normal kids?” Lucas complained. Feeling uneasy, Y/N hunched forward lightly to disguise her emotions, but Steve knew her body language too well and sat next her pulling her into a hug.

“So what’s the plan?” Erica quizzed not wanting to be a sitting duck.

“Get as much information on Creel as possible to piece together why Vecna has gone down this route” Dustin aired casually as he continued to view the silent report.

“You think he is sending a message?” Max asked.

“He’s playing games, he hated his father” Robin mused.

“So he’s saying what? – ‘I killed my father, now all bets are off and I’m coming for you’” Steve asked keeping his arms wrapped around Y/N who was yet to speak.

“What if it’s something else? Something darker? Every time it’s a new thing we are dealing with” Lucas asked.

“Vecna said he created it all” Max reminded; it prompted them all to think on unsuccessfully.

An hour later Steve left with the younger ones to drop them home. While Eddie was teaching Robin how to play Dungeons and Dragons, Y/N started cleaning the dishes in the sink. She still couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone was watching her. She glanced out of the window absentmindedly and nearly dropped the plate in shock. In the driveway, a man stood there (if you could call him that), his skin was all shrivelled, bubbled and burnt. The whites of his eyes were a contrast to his skin and the shadows that his dark fedora cast upon his face making his grin more menacing. His tattered red and green jumper hung quite loosely on his frame adding to his creepy appearance. He was staring directly at her and waving mockingly, the purposeful movement of the finger blades on his gloved hand filled her with absolute dread – it was almost like Vecna’s hand (more reminiscent of a claw). Y/N wanted to step back and look away, but it felt like her feet were glued to the spot she was in. A haunting sound of girls singing began to permeate the air.

1, 2 Freddy’s coming for you,

3, 4 better lock your door

5, 6 grab your crucifix

7, 8 better stay up late

9, 10 never sleep again

Y/N screamed as a hand landed on her shoulder, she turned around to see Robin and Eddie there. Both showing concern for her.

“Jesus Y/N, you gave us a fright” Eddie chuckled.

“Me – you snuck up on me” she replied.

“We called you several times, so we came in her. Eddie thought Vecna was striking again as you didn’t respond” Robin explained.

“I…” Y/N looked out of the window, but he was gone. “There was this… thing, man. I don’t know, he was just there. He had blades for fingers. It looked like Vecna’s hand”

“Was it Vecna?” Eddie quizzed with worry.

“No, he… he wasn’t Vecna” Y/N sighed. “It sounds stupid, I know” she conceded. Robin put a hand on Y/N’s shoulder comfortingly.

“After what we’ve all seen, nothing is stupid. Was there anything else that you saw or noticed about him?” Robin tried to coax.

“There was this sound of girls singing, little girls like they were playing in a schoolyard. I can’t quite remember but it was something like 1, 2… erm… Freddy’s coming for you, I think” she tried to recall. They all jumped as Steve opened the front door. He stopped in the kitchen doorway confused as to why all 3 of them were so jittery and waiting to be filled in.

The clock struck midnight; Y/N cuddled up to Steve in bed. He had been trying to calm her since he’d gotten home. He pressed his lips to her forehead softly in a supportive kiss. They didn’t need words to explain how they felt, their connection ran much deeper than that. The quietened actions, ashen look on her face, constant need for hugs and nervousness at every sound told Steve all he needed to know. He pulled her closer to him and let her melt into his hold. Quietly, he began to sing their song to her:

Babe I'm leaving I must be on my way The time is drawing near My train is going I see it in your eyes The love beneath your tears But I'll be lonely without you And I'll need your love to see me through So please believe me, my heart is in your hands And I'll be missing you

You know it's you, babe Whenever I get weary and I've had enough Feel like giving up You know it's you, babe Giving me the courage and the strength I need Please, believe that it's true Babe, I love you

For the first time that night, a genuine smile bloomed across her face as her boyfriend sang with a goofy grin on his face. He kissed her softly and promised her that he was there no matter what and it was the reassurance she needed in order to try and sleep.

Eddie tossed and turned as he slept on the couch, Robin turned over on the other couch as Eddie mumbled something incoherent.

“Eddie I’m trying to sleep” she complained as she tried to get comfortable yet again.

The fog seemed to deliberately obscure Eddie’s vision. Despite this, his other senses were heightened. The footsteps grew louder, hair stood on the nape of his neck. That feeling of complete dread filled him. The shrill sound of metal grating against metal was met with a wince by Eddie, he swallowed a gulp as a silhouette appeared in the fog – a figure of what could be described as a man in a fedora and with a claw for a hand – he called Eddie’s name ominously, his tone eerily dark and foreboding.

“Who are you?” Eddie called out bravely despite his brain telling him to turn and run. The figure laughed in response as he showed off his razor fingers, moving them slowly. The steps towards Eddie were deliberate.

“Introductions later Mr Munson. I hear you’ve been a busy boy” he taunted. Eddie remained wordless, not sure how to respond and Freddy picked up on this. “I mean my son already terrified you. Don’t you remember?” he asked pausing and pointing over to Eddie’s right. Chrissy Cunningham stood there looking worse than a zombie in Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. She was pointing to Eddie, accusing him of letting her die. He turned to run and hit the wall of chest of his unknown assailant.

“Here’s Freddy!!” he grinned parodying The Shining. Eddie used all his might to shove Freddy back as he swiped at him. The razored glove tore through the Hellfire t-shirt like a hot knife through butter, the tips nicking at his stomach in the process and drawing droplets of blood. Screaming out for help and in pain, Eddie tried to run and escape his attacker to no avail as he tripped over some vines on the ground. Freddy was over him in an instant, holding him in place by his throat. Eddie was begging for him to let him go while trying to fight him off.

“Oh I’m not going to kill you… yet. The chase hasn’t been as much fun as I hoped” his laugh was almost a deep cackle, “Or maybe I will. But let me leave a message for your friends” his features turned more sinister as he started scratching on Eddie’s chest using the blades to write. The pain was excruciating as Eddie cried out to anyone and everyone for help.

He was woken up by Robin, Y/N and Steve, all shaking him. He looked pale and frightened. Worse than when he was hiding after watching Chrissy and Patrick die. His breathing was ragged as he tried to make sense of the dream. It felt real, too real. He looked under the blanket at his chest and coiled into himself in horror – the shirt was hacked to pieces. It was real.

“Eddie… Eddie, what happened?” Steve’s calming tone helped Eddie settle down a little.

“This… this… this thing – he attacked me. He had a glove with knives for fingers” he explained looking directly at Y/N who would understand what he was saying.

“A red and green jumper and a fedora, his face all mangled” she spoke, and he nodded. Steve’s brow furrowed.

“Is this what you’ve been scared of all evening sweetheart?” Steve asked Y/N. She confirmed it with a quiet nod and Steve moved to wrap his arms around her, feeling the sudden urge to protect her.

“There’s more” Eddie announced revealing his shredded shirt and the cuts on his abdomen and chest as he removed his top. The name Freddy Krueger etched in Eddie’s chest in crimson drying liquid had them all gasping in fear. “He told me that Vecna is his son”

“How is that possible?” Robin asked, “Victor Creel was Vecna’s father – Nancy and I visited him” They were about to speak when the heard Dustin calling a code red on the walkie talkie. None of them felt they could move as they just listened to him.

“Guys this is a code red, I repeat a code red. I had a nightmare about this creepy dude with knives for fingers and I woke up with my bedding slashed. I got a message from Suzie too and it’s disturbing. Vecna’s father was a serial killer called Freddy Krueger. He changed his identity to Victor Creel and moved to Hawkins. It seems he’s back and working with his son. Max has been taken to hospital. Lucas said she had a nightmare and was left bleeding heavily from what looked like five knives across her back and side. We’ve got trouble on our hands” he confirmed breathless. Robin took the walkie talkie to speak with Dustin while Y/N sat next to Eddie with Steve hugging her from behind. Eddie ran his fingers over the cuts.

“It looks like we’re in for another fight, I was kinda bored anyway” Eddie joked. Steve chuckled but could feel how tense Y/N was. She knew he was different; they knew very little about him and he didn’t look like he belonged in the upside down either.

“I guess we had better gear up for another fight” Steve sighed. The sound of tormented laughter filled the room scaring them all. They heard a scratching sound and Robin tapped Steve’s shoulder frantically to get him to look at the wall. Words were rapidly being scratched into it:

You think you’ve got what it takes? I’m nothing like my son.

I AM ETERNAL!

His haunting message left them unnerved. This was going to be a fight like something they’d never faced before…

@cuddlykillers @bride-of-jason-voorhees @jobean12-blog @boxofbonesfic @mollygetssherlockcoffee @steveharringtonarchives @steveharringtonscarkeys @steveslittlesunflower @hawkins-high86 @hawkinsindiana @hawkinsdirtbag @fujiihime @aidinniram @tumblin-theworldaway @ladytarantula @angelulls @kristin813 @heyyimmisunderstood @selfdeprecatingnerd @protecteddiemunson4vr @frankie-mercury @harrington-love @expominds @flirtyandnerdyy @tomsvenom @dullsocietyy @greenteaandsagetea @funicidals @untitledarea @just-kinda-bored-blog @superfan-things @variant-lokitty @ronanceing @katetothemoon @syntheticavenger @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog

“𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬!”

eddie munson x fem!reader (reader is canonically hot and everyone loves her i don’t make the rules 🙇🏾‍♀️)

except yes i do. 😽

future warnings : suggestive language , cursing , blood and gore , heavy flirting , eddie being down bad 🫤, reader being hot , steve being hot , robin being hot , eddie being hot, nancy being hot , look everyone’s just hot okay? and i can’t think of anymore rn 🤨 not much hotness yet 🫤

chapter 1 , chapter 2 , chapter 3 <- here now

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hawkins, indiana | hopper & el’s cabin | june 24 , 1986 | 6:57 a.m.

you walked up the path to hopper and el’s (now restored) cabin. you decided that the earlier you get this over with the better. plus, you wanted to spend the rest of the day packing.

you got to the door, getting ready to knock, when it inched open with el smiling at you.

“hey. he’s getting ready for work.” she smiled, hugging you as you walked into the house.

“oh, yeah! ‘chief hopper’ back in business huh?” you exclaimed, loud enough for him to hear. you heard his grunt and could practically feel his eye-roll from outside of his room.

“so! el, how are you doing? what are you up so early for?” you beamed.

she led you over to the table and sat across from you. before she could answer you though, hopper’s bedroom door slammed open, him grumbling as he saw you.

“you couldn’t have callled?” he said, looking for his badge.

“would you have answered? plus! i know you love seeing me, hop!” you shot back at him, with a bright smile.

rolling his eyes he walked into the bathroom, grumbling something along the lines of “s’too early to be that happy.” leaving you an el to giggle amongst yourselves at his usual grumpy attitude.

“alright. since i know you won’t take no for an answer and you’ve got all these kids’ parents under some kind of spell. here are the ground rules.” he started, looking pointedly at the two of you, as you and el shared an excited glance.

“no powers. i’m serious, we’ve all been through too much this past year, and we don’t need any government pricks on our asses anymore, got it?” he said sternly, receiving a rapid head nod from the two of you.

“two. no boys, alright?! i mean it! i’ve been having a particularly great time with this “no-mike” agenda you’ve been following, and i’d like to keep it that way.” he pointed at el.

“and three- uhh, well i don’t remember three right now but when i do, i’ll call you okay!” he exclaimed frustratingly, trying to find his badge still.

“here.” you said, getting up from the table, and bringing it over to him. “i’ll pin it.” you said simply, figuring he wanted to say something out of el’s earshot.

“will you be her counselor?” he asked you, quietly. seeing that she was preoccupied with something else at the moment.

“i don’t know yet, but like i told joyce. i’ll find a way to change it if i have to.” you replied nonchalantly.

“what exactly does that mean?” he responded, with his eyebrows raised.

“i guess we’ll find out!” you chirped, making him sigh, shaking his head. “she’ll be safe alright? all of them will be, i promise.” you said seriously.

he said, making you look at him. “you’re like a weird…niece or something to me, okay? and harrington sort of grew on me a little. the point is, i need all of you to stay safe."

“that was an odd compliment, but i’ll take it.” you said, smiling.

“yeah, yeah. no more coming to my house at 7 a.m.! seriously, it’s weird that you remembered my schedule.” he said, after bidding his goodbye for the day, to you and el, getting in his truck and heading off.

turning to el, who you see was just about to heat up some eggos, you asked her, “hey, why don’t you, max, and i go do something fun?”

“right now? shouldn’t i be packing?” she asked incredulously reading the time to be 7:06. “and isn’t it too early?”

“yeah, right now! you can pack later, you have two weeks still! and it’s never too early, el. you go get ready i’ll be in the car!” you exclaimed as you both went in opposite directions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hawkins, indiana | your car -> your aunt’s bakery | 7:13 a.m.

“so why exactly did you two come running into my room, and kidnap me from my house, like psychopaths this morning?” max asked from the backseat. el only looked back at her shrugging her shoulders.

“she didn’t tell me either.” she responded, as they were now both looking at you, curiously.

“we’re not getting the boys, are we? because they’re great and all but i don’t wanna deal with mike’s attitude this early in the morning.” max asked after you never responded.

“yeah, me neither.” el added looking out the window, making you and max meet each other’s eyes in the rearview mirror, with similar shocked expressions.

“well good thing it’s just gonna be us three, then! we’re here!” that being all you said, before pulling onto main street and stopping in front of a closed bakery.

you got out of the car without a word, leaving the girls rushing behind you, as you ran up to the doors.

“uhh, y/n what are you doing?” el asked, as you suspiciously looked through the windows, before looking around the street for any wandeeing eyes.

“quick get in!” you whisper-yelled even though nobody was around, pushing the girls into the bakery.

“y/n?? what’s going on?!” max exclaimed, as you locked the doors behind you before turning to them triumphantly, with your hands on your hips, as if you just saved them from something.

“we’ve got the whole bakery to ourselves for an hour!” you exclaimed giddily leading them to a booth and going towards the kitchen, asking them what they wanted.

“see, during the summer my aunt doesn’t open the bakery till 9, meaning that nobody’s gonna come in until about 8:15 to 8:30. so as long as we’re out of here before her or harry comes in, we should be fine!” you said, excitedly before sneering at harry’s name, causing max to chuckle at you clear distaste for the boy.

“who’s harry?” el asked max, curiously.

“her snitch cousin that tells her aunt every little thing she does.” max and el laughed at your glare, remembering all the different times he tormented you.

“like this one time, junior year! i guess he caught eddie and i making out at the drive-in or something, and he snitched! he told my aunt, and then she told my parents, and then they grounded me, because i told them them that i went with nancy.” you pouted, remembering the way your parents yelled at you for hours over the three-way call, being that they had been out of town for their jobs, at the time.

as you worked in the kitchen, they’d assumed you worked yourself up at the memory, because they heard a distant grumble of “he’s just mad he doesn’t get any like i do!” and a “shit!” followed behind the clatter of pans falling, leaving them to giggle amongst themselves. you smiled to yourself, happy to see them a little more carefree than they had been in the last few months.

hawkins, indiana | still at your aunts bakery | 7:59 a.m

you three had spent the majority of the hour, talking, making plans for camp, what you’d do when you got back, and gossiping about your boyfriends before you’d heard a car pull up in front of the bakery. you all peeked out the blinds, seeing someone get out of a sleek black car.

“who’s that?” el asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“fucking harry! that kiss-ass! probably coming in early to suck up to his mother. ” you panicked jumping out of the booth, knowing he saw your car.

“shit! what do we do!” max exclaimed, as her and el jumped out of the booth as well.

“uhh, alright, you two go out the back door and wait in the side alley, here take my keys.” you said throwing them to her, as you quickly gathered the dishes you used and went to the kitchen.

“wait, what about you?” they asked confusedly seeing you stay behind the counter, ready for him to come in.

“any chance i get to fuck with harry, i’ll take. wait for him to come inside before you go to the car, i’ll meet you out there in a sec!” you said closing the door behind them.

and like clockwork, you heard the door ring, signalling your cousin’s entrance.

“hey, cuz!” you exclaimed. making him jump at the sudden intrusion.

“what are you doing here?” he asked suspiciously, looking around for someone else.

“i was doing the display case for aunt char, today? what does it look like i’m doing?” you said nonchalantly, seeing el and max quickly get into your car through the window behind him.

“it looks like you’re trespassing. you better not be defiling my mother’s fine establishment with your trashy boyfriend!” he accused. ahh, so that’s who he was looking for.

“first of all, i have a key too, dipshit." you deadpanned. “and my boyfriend’s not trashy, harry. what’s trashy is the college boy tina dumped you for, but hey! i can help you look for someone else!” you said with fake sympathy.

“fuck you.” he chuckled humorlessly, giving up in his search for eddie, now joining you behind the counter. “i’ve got the rest.” he said, taking over.

“love you too, cuz!” you said, patting him on the shoulder, before walking past him and to the front, quickly grabbing your bag, and rushing to your car.

“i love him, but talking to him, sometimes makes me wanna kill him." you sighed, pulling out of your parking space and heading back towards forest hills.

you three spent the car ride cracking jokes about your cousin, before getting to max’s house.

“thanks for this morning, it was fun!” the girls exclaimed, “anytime! and we’ll have much more fun once we get to camp!” you exclaimed back, as they hugged you then got out and running inside.

you were about to head back to yours to finally start packing, being that you only had today, wednesday, and thursday to pack. but instead, you strolled over to eddie’s trailer, knocking on the door incessantly.

hearing eddie stomp through the trailer and towards the door, you backed up a little knowing that he was about to go off on whoever he thought was banging on his door this early, probably mrs. nolan (yes she exists here too 😭)

“grace, you fucking barbarian- oh! hey, babe!” he recovered, seeing you standing there laughing.

“i don’t think mrs. nolan would like you calling her by her first name, ed.” you laughed, walking into the trailer, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“yeah, well she already doesn’t like me so- who really cares, ya know?” he said, cupping your face and bringing it to his in a firm kiss, attempting to guide you towards his room.

“mmm.. nope! no! eddie, i told myself i would pack today and nothing will stop me!” you yelped untangling yourself from him and leaning on the wall. “besides, you need to pack too! so hop to it lover boy, we can make out later.” you said, beginning to walk back towards the door.

“well, actually!” he exclaimed, catching you by the waist and turning you back towards the wall, leaving no room to escape. “ i finished packing last night.” he said nonchalantly.

“…really?” you deadpanned.

“yeah! contrary to our friends beliefs, i am actually excited to go to camp..uh. well i forgot the name but i’m excited to go!” he explained.

“oh, i see! so long story short, you and robin raced to see who could finish packing first.” you said, remembering the conversation you and robin had the night before.

‘your stupid, bambi-eyed boyfriend thinks that he can finish packing before me, and i need to prove him wrong!” she had exclaimed through the receiver.

“yeah, and i won, so she can shove it!” he defended, showing you his packed bags sitting on the side of his bed.

“okay, fine. you can come home with me then.” you said finally finding a way past him, making your way back to your car. from the corner of your eye you saw him fist bump into the air. “but only to watch and help me pack!” you clarified.

“aw, come on!” he exclaimed, sulking as he followed you to your car.

hawkins, indiana | y/l/n residence | 10:53 a.m.

“eddie quit flinging my bras at robin’s head!” you scolded him, from inside your closet. finally finding the pair of shorts you were searching for, you turned back to the duffle bag on your bed, only to find it missing all of your underwear.

“robin why are you putting them on?! get them off your head?! put them back in the duffel bag!” you scolded the both of them.

how you ended up in this mess, was becoming a blur to you. see, after you drove eddie and you back to your house, you found robin sitting on your porch swing.

once spotting each other, eddie and robin’s eyes blazing, surely enough getting ready to fight about who was the quicker packer, thankfully you were able to ask her what she was doing at your house beforehand. she explained that she was bored, and wanted to help you come pack which led to the new argument of “who’s the better assistant?”

the answer being; neither of them. see, it started off well enough. you would pull something out and they’d give you a thumbs up or a thumbs down, and then one of you would fold it and put it in your bag. that was until you walked to your bathroom to gather your toiletries and robin decided to pelt a pair of rolled-up socks at a slowly drifting eddie’s forehead, which led to him slingshotting a bra at her and from there a war started and had been going on for half an hour now.

with you scolding them and them trying to defend themselves by talking over each other, none of you heard the front door open, or nancy and steve announcing their arrival. the two shared a confused look at the sounds of yelling, cursing and things crashing to the floor before making their way up the stairs and to your room. 

the sight that beheld them once they got to the doorway of your bedroom could be described as a lot of things - one of your bras got tangled in robin's hair in an attempt to get it off, so you made eddie assist her. but then he yanked it a little too hard, leaving robin to yank his hair with even more force. so now they're wrestling on the floor while you ignore them and continue to pack your things.

at that moment the only thing that either of them could muster was -

"the fuck are you guys doing?"

"packing" said simultaneously, by the three of you.

"oh right, how could i have missed that?" steve quips sarcastically . "anyways," he looked towards you, "have you seen my bat? i swear the last place i left it was robin's house, but i can't find it!"

"oh! yeah i have it, follow me!" you said flippantly, leading him out of your room.

nancy just chuckled in amusement at steve's excitement for something so odd, and started to fold and put the things robin and eddie messed up back in your bag, while robin and eddie just watched on confusedly.

"yeah, she brought it over here because her mom almost found it a few weeks ago." you finished explaining to steve as you two walked back into your room.

"oh ho ho, is that steve's infamous life-saving bat i've heard so much about?" eddie admonished.

"well, technically i guess it's jonathan's bat that i ended up making my own?" steve replied trying to remember who it's original owner was.

"uhh no? it's my bat." nancy said, looking at steve pointedly, willing him to remember.

"ahhh great memories, huh guys." you sighed out.

"yeahhhh." they sighed out wistfully.

"okay i know you guys have been to hell and back for the past few years," robin started

"on multiple occasions!" eddie included.

"but nancy has her guns, steve has his bat, and what about us three?" she finished.

"hey, leave me out of that, i have my knives!" you said offended.

"since when?" eddie challenged you, making you scoff no start to look under your bed.

"since always, i'm actually shocked you haven't noticed, eddie." nancy furrowed her eyebrows.

"yeah there's literally no way in the world you haven't felt them before with the way you're always groping her." steve added.

"wait you keep them on you?!" robin exclaimed.

"yep, always!.. ha! i found my unused ones!" you exclaimed, before bouncing up, and plopping yourself, along with a large fancy wooden box with a glass case, onto your bed.

you opened it showcasing all of your different knives to them. "these are just my new ones, but here we have my throwing knives, my butterfly knife, my bowie knives-

"hey didn't you have a few trench knives too?" nancy asked pointing to a few empty spots in your case.

"yeahh, remember you showed them to nance and i a few months back!" steve snapped his fingers in rememberance.

"oh shit, yeah! I had pulled them out when all that vecna crap first started! But in all that chaos I guess I never ended up using them.." you trailed off as the three of you began wordlessly looking around your room for them, not even noticing robin and eddie's silent, but haste escape.

"d'you pack...stuff too?" a frightened eddie asked, huddled against robin, once they got to the safety of your kitchen.

"no... did you?" robin asked, equally as frightened.

"hell no! the most damage I did, was pack a shit ton of blank dnd character sheets that i was gonna make my kids fill out against their will!" eddie whisper shouted.

"so we can both agree that, that's not as normal as they're making it seem, right?" she whispered.

the both of them stared at each other in silent understanding, before jumping at the sound of their names.

"hey... where did rob and ed's go?" steve asked.

before either of the three could call out to them however, robin and eddie booked it out of your house, whether to get things to be at your level, or to find the three of you professional, therapeutic help was only something that eddie and robin could answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a/n : this took me for fucking EVER, i am literally so sorryyyy. i'm not even on hiatus , i've just been so busy with my senior year and i get so tired when i come home, that i'll have so many plots and ideas and all that stuff but not add them. OR i'll add something to one of my stories, save it, and then not look at it for weeks 😭😭 but yeah, i should definitely be updating more from now. i'm working on the next few chapters of "like a virgin" as well !

ALSO next chapter their finally on their way to camp people 😼😼😼 the build up is OVER (kinda 🤫)

taglist : @1rekk @gardenof-venus @queenariesofnarnia @creativedogs @moraonmarz @lieblingsmensch-xoxo @itswhateversworld @blkroyalty1 @ashthespaceastronaut @serpenttiens-libary @offbrandgod @blackreaderatrisk @allthecoolkidsimagines @witchymoonbabe @i-reblog-fics-i-like

HELP THIS WAS SO HILARIOUSLY GOOD 😭😭😭😭

We Got A Lovin' Thing - s.h. | e.m.

Summary: Eddie, as it turns out, is the only one with a brain cell among the three of you. (Or: the time you didn't know you were all dating).

Pairing: Steve Harrington x fem!reader x Eddie Munson

Word count: 3.5k

Warnings: fluff, idiocy, jealousy, misunderstandings, me attempting to write the "didn't know they were dating" trope.

dividers by s-tarksintern

"You don't have to."

The tickets had barely entered your hand before Eddie was making excuses. He shoved a handful of curls behind his ear. You tutted, swatting his hand because that was exactly what made them frizz. He hesitantly released the curls, twisting his rings around his fingers instead. 

"Of course we'll go," Steve said. "We wanna support you. Right, Y/N?" 

You nodded eagerly. "That's right. Dustin's told us all about your sick guitar riffs. Obviously, I need to hear them for myself."

"I mean, you know if Dustin's hyped, it's gonna be bitchin'."

You grinned at Steve. He mirrored you. All of the tension slipped out of Eddie. He lost an inch in height from posturing for rejection. Which didn't make sense. Steve would certainly never reject Eddie like that. Maybe Eddie just really wanted you to go. 

"I know it's not really your guys' thing," Eddie said. "Which is why I didn't wanna pressure you. And I know we're taking it slow, so…"

"I don't think you need to take introducing us to your metalheads that slow, Munson," Steve snorted. "We can handle it."

"Steve should wear your vest," you suggested, wiggling your brows. 

"Me? No, no, you'd wear it way better than me," insisted Steve. 

"How 'bout," Eddie said, shrugging off said vest. "The prince takes the vest and the fair maiden gets my bandana. As a token of gratitude."

Your heart fluttered as Eddie gently wrapped the fabric around your forehead. You helped him tie it in the back, his fingers brushing yours. The bandana was soft and smelled like his cologne, patterned with multicolored skulls. 

"Sure we're metal enough for you and your crew?" you asked, trying to push down the butterflies in your belly. 

Eddie grinned. "Without a doubt. Better than Ozzy."

"I think Steve should throw it back to eighty-six and show off the sternum bush," you said, playfully poking his chest. "That bare chest was the highlight of my year, Harrington."

"Yeah, yeah," Steve snarked. "Take a picture."

"Oh no, I wouldn't wanna make anybody jealous," you laughed. 

"Jealous? Never!" Steve cast dramatically. "Eddie knows my adoring fans mean nothing to me!" 

"Imagine my relief," Eddie said, draping an arm over you, then Steve. "Can't have anybody looking at my guy. Or my girl."

You squirmed under his arm, sliding out of his grip as smoothly as possible. 

"Um, yeah. Well, I don't think you'll have to worry. You steal the show every time, Eds."

"Sweetheart, you've gotta wait till I actually start playing before you gas me up," Eddie grinned. 

You shoved his arm, attempting vainly to mask your nerves. 

"No gas! It’ll be great."

You left Eddie’s room, heading out the front door. Steve followed you down the steps.

“Show starts at eight!” Eddie called after you. 

“We’ll be there, superstar,” you said, giving a thumbs up. “Dress pretty—Steve’s not easily impressed.”

“Hilarious,” Steve snarked. “Maybe you can follow his act with some of those jokes.”

You stuck out your tongue and got into the passenger side of his 733i. 

“Isn’t Eddie giving you a ride?” he asked, getting into the driver’s seat.

“Why would Eddie give me a ride? Doesn’t he have a rehearsal?”

Steve shrugged. “How would I know? He’d tell you before me.”

“What? No way. You’d be the first to know. You’re the one who brought up Corroded Coffin.”

“Yeah, ‘cause I’ve never been to a show,” Steve said, pulling out of the trailer park.

“You haven’t?”

“No. When would I have gone?”

“I mean… anytime, really,” you frowned. “I thought Eddie would’ve invited you by now.”

Steve gave you an incredulous look. “Me?”

“Yes?” you scoffed. “Why are you acting so weird?”

“Why are you?” Steve shot back. 

“I’m not…” you trailed off. 

He remained quiet, so you dropped the subject. You rested your head against the seat and watched Steve from the corner of your eye. Eddie was lucky. Nancy had been too. You’d always thought so.

The metal infinity ring was on Steve’s right middle finger. You were there when Eddie gave it to him. Eddie had given you a ring too, days before that. For a moment, you’d hoped and wondered. Wondered if maybe Eddie felt the same as you did. 

You wore yours on a thin chain around your neck. That was how pathetic you were—if it was a ring from Eddie Munson, you’d wear it close to your heart, even when it was painfully obvious yours meant something different from Steve’s. 

“Wanna stop by BK before I drop you?” Steve asked.

“Sure,” you smiled softly. “Thanks, Steve.”

He nodded, mirroring your smile. His veins were stark lines against his skin. You stared unabashedly at how his hands curled around the steering wheel. How could anybody blame Eddie? You’d give Steve pretty rings too. 

Steve ordered your regular at the Burger King drive-though. You reclined in the seat.

“Should’ve brought Eddie something,” you said, eyes closed.

“He likes BK?”

“His stomach is a bottomless pit. He’ll literally eat anything.”

“Anything, huh?”

“Gross, Steve!” you scoffed, thwacking his arm. “Don’t be a perv.”

He cackled as he pulled up to the next drive-through window. The girl at the window took the money, then leaned in while waiting for the food. 

“Hi,” she said, fluttering her lashes.

“Hey,” Steve nodded. “How are you?”

“Good. Want extra sauce?”

“I do!” you interrupted, sticking your head next to Steve’s.

She shot you a dirty look. You wiggled your fingers in a wave.

“Can I get extra sauce? Or does he only get extra sauce?”

Her face twisted into a mix of jealousy and disgust. She shoved the bag through the window, then slammed the screen closed. You burst into giggles as Steve drove off.

“Was that really necessary?” he sighed, passing you the food.

“What? Not like you’re interested. She’s not your type.”

“I—my type?”

“Yeah?” 

You shoveled a few fries in your mouth. 

“And what exactly is my type, Y/N?”

“Not her,” you sniffed. Not me, either.

“That’s specific.”

“I know. My mysterious feminine wiles are irresistible.”

“Ah, yes. What drew Eddie to you in the first place,” Steve agreed.

He didn’t mean anything by it. That didn’t stop the ache. 

“Yeah,” you mumbled, shoving more fries into your mouth. “Right.”

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, slowing down in front of your house.

"See you then," you confirmed, closing the door.

"Wear somethin' nice for Eddie," Steve teased.

"You first!"

You watched him drive off, dejectedly chomping down on a chicken strip. Oh God. What were you doing?

The club was loud. You’d tried to dress a little closer to the demographic but you weren’t sure you’d accomplished such a thing. Still, it was better than Steve, who looked like he’d just gotten a callback for Grease.

“Dude, what the hell are you wearing?”

“This is cool!” he insisted. 

“Tell me about it, stud.”

“You wore overalls to a metal concert and you wanna make fun of me?” 

“I look cute,” you announced. “And there’s no denying you do too, Steve, but jeez. What happened to wearing Eddie’s vest?”

“It’s under the jacket,” he said, unzipping the black leather jacket. “Did you just call me cute?”

“Don’t let it go to your head, T-Bird.”

“How many Grease references are you gonna make?” he huffed.

“How long is the performance?”

“I’m telling Eddie on you,” Steve warned as you found your seats.

“Ooh, I’m really sca—”

A pair of hardcore fans knocked into you. You stumbled, nearly falling over a chair. But Steve was quick to catch you by your arm.

“Whoa, you okay? Assholes!” he fumed, holding your waist.

“It’s fine,” you sighed, hyper aware of Steve’s hands on you. “People are just excited. C’mon, let’s get close to the stage.”

The warmth from Steve’s hands slipped away. You felt dirty for missing it. 

The emcee made a brief introduction and got a few claps. You and Steve both cheered when he announced Corroded Coffin. 

“Go, Eds!” you whooped, clapping obnoxiously. “C’mon, Steve, show a little enthusiasm. That’s your guy up there.”

Steve sighed, rolling his eyes. Then he stuck his pinkies into his mouth, whistling loudly. You squealed in laughter, nudging his side. Steve grinned back, accepting your head on his shoulder.

“Whoa! Hidden talent, Harrington! That from your jock days?”

“Yes, actually. The pool gets loud and I had to get my team’s attention somehow.”

“Coach Steve, huh? No wonder you’re so bossy with the kids.”

“I’m bossy so none of those jerkwads get eaten by faceless monsters. There’s a difference.”

“Yes, dear,” you said seriously, patting his hand. “And you parent them so well.”

“You know what—”

“Shh!” you hushed. “Show’s starting!”

The lights dimmed. Eddie came out first, then the rest of the band. He stepped up to the mic.

“How’s everybody doing tonight?”

“Wooo!” you cheered in reply.

“Let’s go, Eddie!” added Steve.

Eddie found you immediately, grinning widely. 

“Glad you guys are excited,” he continued, eyes never leaving you and Steve. “I see some pretty faces in the crowd. Hope you enjoy.”

The set was energetic, bass vibrating through your body. You and Steve took your cues from the sparse audience, headbanging and air-guitaring through the whole show. He took off the jacket after the first song, leaving him in Eddie’s vest and a white tank. You tried not to stare.

The most important thing was that Eddie had fun. Regardless of your feelings, you and Steve were there to be supportive. Steve and Eddie had never changed how they treated you. There was no reason you couldn’t act the same.

Your chain jumped when you did, jangling against your chest. When you strayed too far from your seat towards the end of the set, Steve took your hand, steering you back so you wouldn’t get lost among the drunks. He didn’t let go until the music finished.

“Thank you! We are Corroded Coffin, good night!”

The band disappeared backstage. You and Steve were the first ones to the stage entrance, which was really just a ragged, faux velvet curtain. Gareth and Jeff chatted among themselves. A few girls had also come in—mostly to fawn over Eddie. 

“Hiiii, Eddie!” giggled one, a little tipsy. “You played a great show!”

“Thanks, ladies,” Eddie replied politely, easily slipping through the gaggle of girls. 

He made a beeline for you and Steve, guitar still strapped across his back. He pulled you both into a sweaty hug, still on a performance high. Eddie’s freshly shaven cheek slid against yours. Your heart did a swan dive to your shoes.

“You guys made it!” 

“Of course we did,” you said. “We wouldn’t miss your show for anything. Steve’s dedicated.”

“So I see,” Eddie grinned, giving Steve a onceover. “Looking good, Greased Lightning.”

“That’s it. I’m never wearing leather again,” Steve huffed, tucking his jacket under his arm.

“No no, it’s hot! Swear it. Tell ‘im, Y/N.”

You rolled your eyes. “His head’s already big enough, Eds.”

“See how mean she is to me?” Steve whined. 

“Poor baby,” Eddie cooed, patting Steve’s neck. “What were we thinking, pledging our love to her?”

You turned your head, throat tightening. Neither one seemed to notice.

“You should make it up to me,” decided Steve. “I accept pizza.”

“Pizza it is,” Eddie said, taking off his guitar. “Lemme just pack up my stuff and we’ll head back to the shire. Just us, promise. Sound good?”

Eddie goaded Steve ahead, arm around his back. You hung behind them, that pang in your chest returning. 

“Hey,” Eddie said, turning. “Where’d you go? C’mere.”

“Huh?” 

“You’re all the way back there,” he laughed. “Here.”

They slowed for a beat so you caught up. Then Eddie tugged you to his other side, arm hanging over your shoulders. You couldn’t even fight him. Eddie was always tactile and once you became friends, all sense of personal space was thrown out the window. It felt good, even if it was temporary. 

You rode back in the van. It was rowdy but Eddie thankfully dropped off the rest of his band early in the drive. 

“So which pizzeria? Fredo’s or Mikey’s?”

“Fredo’s!” you said.

“Mikey’s!” Steve voted.

You gasped in horror. “Mikey’s? They give you approximately three drops of sauce. It’s like eating cardboard with cheese.”

“Mikey’s way better than Fredo’s. Mikey’s doesn’t have sixteen health violations, for one.”

“Everyone knows that was a story the paper cooked up because Fredo wouldn’t sell to Kline,” you scoffed. “Open your eyes, Steven.”

“Fine, we’ll have Eddie decide.”

You both turned expectantly to Eddie, who glanced at you in the rearview mirror. 

“Oh. Uh, well, I really don’t have a preference…”

“No, no. You’ve gotta choose, Eds,” you said. “Steve has apparently decided to go insane.”

“Me? You’re eating rat droppings, Y/N.”

“You are such a freakazoid, Steve, what the hell—”

“Guys! Okay, okay, how ‘bout this: Y/N chooses the pizza and Steve, you can choose what movie we watch. Deal?” 

You tilted your head at Steve. He crossed his arms.

“Fine. But I know you’re biased, Munson.”

“Am not! I’m totally impartial.”

“If he was biased, he’d side with you,” you said.

“Uh, no, he’d totally side with you,” Steve scoffed. “But, y’know, I guess if I were in his shoes I’d side with you too.”

Before you could ask what that meant, Steve was sliding open the door to the van and climbing out. After a minute, you did the same, taking Eddie’s proffered hand. 

“Hey. You know he’s not really mad, right?” he murmured, squeezing your hand.

“I know,” you smiled. “I wasn’t worried. Were you?”

“No, no. Just don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

You smiled confusedly. “Um, okay. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t, like, get in between you two or anything.” 

Eddie looked appalled by that. “I know you wouldn’t, baby. I love you both, you know that.”

“I—” You swallowed, overwhelmed. “Oh. I l-love you too, Eds.”

Eddie beamed and kissed your knuckles. You felt your face grow hot. 

“I’m going inside,” you rushed out, scurrying up the steps. 

You slammed the door shut behind you, letting out a slow breath. What was that?! Were you tripping or had Eddie been flirting with you?

“Hey—”

“Ahh!”

You jumped, startled. Steve froze, brows to his hairline. 

“Uh,” he began. “You good?”

“Yeah, s-sorry. I’m fine. What’s up?”

“I was gonna order the pizza, what toppings did you—”

“I’ll do it!” you said, snatching the phone and shooing him out of the kitchen. “Go pick a movie. I’ll order.”

“No mushrooms,” Steve reminded as you herded him out. “And Eddie is allergic to—”

“Olives, yeah, I know, Steve. This isn’t the first time we’ve had pizza together.”

“Dunno why you’re so snappy when we have to eat sewer pizza,” he mumbled. 

You ignored him, returning to the phone. Wayne had most of the takeout numbers posted near the phone, so it was easy to dial. 

“Hello, pickup or delivery?”

“Hi, delivery. Can I get two large pies. One with pepperoni and…”

“Get some mozzarella sticks too,” Eddie said, walking into the kitchen. “My treat.”

“It’s actually my treat,” came Steve’s voice from the living room.

You rolled your eyes. “And one order of mozzarella sticks. On the other pie can we get peppers and white sauce?” You gave the address. 

“Twenty minutes,” said the delivery person.

“Okay, thanks,” you replied. “Twenty minutes, guys!”

“‘Kay, I’m gonna shower, baby. Don’t let Steve put on a crappy movie.”

Then, gentle as he could be, Eddie lightly took your chin in hand and kissed the corner of your mouth. 

You freaked. 

“Hey!” you shouted, slamming the phone back on the receiver. “Hey, what the fuck was that?!”

Eddie’s eyes were wide. “What was what?”

“You kissed me! What the hell, Eddie? Steve is ten feet away from us!”

“I know…” he started weakly. “What does that have to do—”

“You know?” you screeched. “You know? What the fuck does that mean? Oh, fuck this. Steve, come ‘ere!”

“Jesus, what’s with all the yelling, Y/N? Did you get into Eddie’s stash?” Steve groaned, rising from the VCR. 

You pointed an accusatory finger at Eddie. 

“He kissed me.”

“Okay,” Steve said slowly. “Was it a bad kiss or something?”

“I really don’t think that’s necessary to ask,” Eddie huffed.

“Steve!” you frowned, waving your hands. “Why are you not upset about this?”

“Well, because I figured you guys would’ve kissed a lot by now? You’re together after all.”

“What? Eddie and I aren’t together! That doesn’t even make sense. You’re his boyfriend.”

“Me?” Steve balked. “I—what?”

“Yeah-huh, you guys have been dating since Eddie gave you that ring.”

Steve’s mouth fell open. “We have not.”

“Have too!”

“You guys have been dating since Eddie came back from the Upside Down,” Steve said. “Remember, you had that heartfelt reunion, you cried in his arms, et cetera.”

“You two are so in love with each other it’s not funny,” you argued, stomping your foot. “You’re always flirting and cracking jokes and talking about how handsome you are.”

“Well, yeah, but I flirt with you too!” Steve cried. 

That stopped you in your tracks. 

“You… what?”

“Wow, okay,” Eddie interrupted, rubbing his face. “Okay, alright. Wow. Uh, so here’s the thing. I actually thought we’ve all been dating for about a month now, but, turns out I’m an even bigger dumbass than I thought.”

Steve looked like you’d just asked him to do calculus. You weren’t faring much better.

“Now, that can’t be right,” said Steve.

Eddie’s hands fluttered. “I gave you guys rings! And I said how I, y’know, really cared about you both.”

“Right, you said you cared about Y/N as more than a friend and that if I was okay with it, you wanted us to spend more time together and get to know each other… oh.”

Steve glanced at you, grimacing.

“Whoops,” you said. 

“Big whoops,” he agreed.

Eddie sighed, twisting his rings round and round. “It’s cool. I guess I should’ve said something earlier, made it clear. I understand if you two don’t wanna do that. It was… hasty to assume that from you, especially both—”

“Eds, Eddie,” you cut him off. “Honey, I’m like, really in love with both of you. I was losing my mind with jealousy every time we hung out.”

He brightened. “Really?”

“Okay, you don’t have to sound so excited,” you giggled.

“Sorry,” Eddie said, having the decency to look chastened. “Sorry, sweetheart, I’m just—God, you don’t know how happy that makes me. That is—I mean, Steve?”

“I—” Steve looked shellshocked. “You like me? Both of you?”

“A little more like love, actually,” Eddie grinned. 

“Yes, Steve, it would seem that in spite of you dressing like one of The Outsiders, we are both head over heels for you.” 

“Well, I’m in love with you too, Y/N. Even after you’ve helped Pa bring in the harvest.”

“Oh, now you’re gonna get it, Harrington. Confessing your love won’t stop me and my overalls from waging war!”

You sprung forward, fully intending to tackle Steve. However, you sorely underestimated his jock phase and ended up landing on the ground instead, Steve hovering over you.

“Get her!” he ordered and then there were two pairs of hands tickling you.

“That’s not f-fair, it’s two against o-one!” you squealed between peals of laughter. “You were supposed to be my a-ally, Eds!”

Eddie relented after a moment, collapsing on the floor and pulling you to the side. He locked you in a deep kiss: a proper one. You slung an arm around his neck, playing with some of his curls. Kissing him was better than you could’ve imagined. Eddie surrounded you, holding your face.

Steve had taken mercy as well, fitted into your other side. And as soon as Eddie let go of you, he swooped in. Steve kissed differently from Eddie, preferring to hold onto your hip instead, thumb drawing circles. He gasped into your mouth, teeth just barely catching your lip. You made a soft noise as he pulled away, drunk on both of them.

Finally, Eddie surged up to meet Steve in a kiss. They were a little rougher with each other, wrestling around as they hummed into each other. But eventually, they settled with Eddie on his back next to you. You watched happily, curling up next to him. Steve let go after a couple seconds, rolling onto Eddie’s other side. 

“You know, you wanna talk about healthcode violations, this carpet would not pass any sort of inspection if its life depended on it.”

You cackled as Steve whined, scrambling onto the couch.

“Oh, come on!” he huffed. “That’s disgusting, man.”

“Kidding!” Eddie laughed. “I’m kidding, promise. C’mon, come down. You still have to choose a movie.”

“Yeah, and it has to be a good one ‘cause this is our first movie as a throuple,” you added.

“Great, thanks. No pressure.”

“No, full pressure,” Eddie corrected. “But don’t worry, man. We forgive your taste in movies. The leather is doing it for me.”

“Plus, you have a cute butt,” you said.

“That too,” Eddie nodded solemnly. “The cutest.”

“It’s perky.”

“Firm.”

“A prize-winning rump.”

“Can it, dorks,” Steve shushed. “Movie’s starting.”

Frankie Valli’s voice suddenly filled the room. You and Eddie burst into uncontrollable giggles that only worsened when Steve jumped up and began to sing along.

“Grease is the word, is the word that you heard!” he sang, a little pitchy on the high notes but otherwise very decent. “It’s got groove, it’s got meaning!”

And this time, when Eddie got up to goof along, there were no pangs in your chest. You watched on, feeling nothing but love.